Israel tries to flush out militants with tanks and bulldozer

Israeli armed forces made a fresh attempt yesterday to flush out 15 armed Palestinians holed up for four days in a government building in the West Bank city of Hebron by smashing through outer walls.

Witnesses said Israeli tanks punched holes in the old British-built building, and an armoured bulldozer moved in to widen the openings, after surviving Palestinians inside ignored an ultimatum to surrender. Four of them have already died in the stand-off. On Thursday, Israeli helicopters fired four missiles into it.

Last night, Israeli forces set off an explosion in part of the fortress-like compound to try to force out the survivors. Smoke and fire could be seen in the night sky coming from a ground-floor corner of the building, with flames flaring up the side walls before quickly dying down.

A former Palestinian cabinet minister, Talal Sidr, earlier entered the building, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, to negotiate but said he could not find anyone inside. He added that the men were posssibly in parts of the heavily damaged four-storey building which he was unable to check.

Soldiers outside warned that they would go in and extract the gunmen if they did not give themselves up. "I think they have to surrender and give up,'' the Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, said. "There is no sense for them to fight."

Israel has lifted its ban on journalists entering Hebron and six other West Bank towns its forces have reoccupied in the past week after more suicide bombings, placing 700,000 Palestinians under curfew.

The European Union pledged yesterday to step up its involvement in the peace process, promising an initiative to try to break the cycle of violence before the Palestinian elections, which Yasser Arafat has called for January.

Launching the programme for its six-month presidency of the EU, Denmark said it would table an initiative after its Foreign Minister, Per Stig Moller, talks with the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, next week.

Differences continue bet-ween the EU and America, in particular over the future of the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat. On Monday of this week, President George Bush called for a "new and different" Palestinian leadership before America would endorse a provisional Palestinian state. Mr Arafat has so far had the backing of the EU, which believes no obvious alternative leader is available. European governments have also emphasised the need for a Middle East peace conference, which President Bush failed to mention.

Mr Moller refused to elaborate on the contribution the EU could make before the Palestinian elections. "I think it is important the peace process continues and there is no gap as far as the international community is concerned," he said. "The European Union has a good record in helping elections."

The Danish plan seems designed to fill the vacuum in the run-up to the elections. It might include a promise of monitors for the beginning of the polling.

Mr Moller's reluctance to give details on the plans reflects the EU's desire to agree its Middle East initiative with America before going public.